Elder's Lending Library

The purpose of the Elder's Lending Library is to further the understanding of the biblical basis for our church and to equip our members to live holy lives by applying biblical principles. We are grateful to God to be able to offer these resources to you and hope that you will make use of them. The items in the library have been selected by the Elders and we have no reservations about commending them to you, however, use them with discernment as we do not agree with everything in every book, CD, or DVD. If you have questions or concerns, talk to us.

If you would like to check out a resource, or have questions about tracking down a specific resource, please email the librarian.

In addition to the resources below, we also have several titles in the Resources for Changing Lives series - A collection of mini books from CCEF to help the Christian counselor with those suffering from a variety of afflictions or sin problems. They are also useful for individuals who are seeking help for themselves and can be read in one short sitting. These titles are available in the rack on the Information Table each Sunday -- no need to contact the librarian.

Christian Living / Counseling

The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin by Kris Lundgaard

Drawing from Indwelling Sin and The Mortification of Sin by Puritan John Owen, Lundgaard aims for the heart with a battle plan for radical spiritual transformation! His biblically sound principles on breaking the cycle of sin will help you live a victorious and fulfilling Christian life. Includes study questions.

Desiring God by John Piper

Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Now revised and expanded, Desiring God reveals how delighting in God can motivate us to glorify Him through worship, stewardship, loving our neighbor, rejoicing in suffering, and other "duties." Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn't truly exist: Delight is our duty. Discover how to lay a biblical foundation for a life of celebration by truly desiring the Lord. (2)

Also available in audio book form, 12 Hours, 20 minutes on 10 CDs. Narrated by Grover Gardner.

Desiring God by John Piper – DVD set

Strengthen your relationship with God simply by enjoying him and his creation! In this captivating 10-session DVD study, Piper reveals how delighting in God can motivate us to glorify him through worship, stewardship, loving our neighbor, suffering, and other "duties."

How Long, O Lord? by D. A. Carson

This clear and accessible treatment of key biblical themes related to human suffering and evil is written by one of the most respected evangelical biblical scholars alive today. Carson’s book brings together a close, careful exposition of key biblical passages with helpful pastoral applications. This is one of the best books we have found on human suffering.

Humility by C. J. Mahaney

God clearly states that he is drawn to the humble. He's also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated. Which will you pursue?Humilitypaints a striking picture of the daily battle quietly raging within every Christian and asks whether you will passively accommodate the enemy of your soul, pride, or actively cultivate your best friend, humility.

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will by Kevin DeYoung

Are you worried that you haven't found God's perfect will for your life? Still waiting for a clear answer? DeYoung's advice is to give up! By surrendering, you'll discover that God's plan has already been revealed. Learn to love him with your whole heart, obey his Word, find hope, and see your choices through.

Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest by Edward T. Welch

Acknowledging that it is our travel companion from infancy to death, respected counselor Welch investigates the ramifications of living in the grip of anxiety, worry, and dread --- and offers a biblical road map that leads to a life of peace and security. Comprehensive, conversational, and comforting!

The Total Money Makeover (Book plus DVDs) by Dave Ramsey

Is your "owe" starting to show? Shrink your waste line, bulk up your bank balance, and get into financial shape with money expert Ramsey's comprehensive and simple plan for debt-free living. You'll be fiscally fit in no time!

Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges

In an effort to strengthen his own trust in God during a time of adversity, Navigator author Jerry Bridges began a lengthy Bible study on God’s sovereignty. The revelations changed his life. In Trusting God, he shares the scope of God’s power to help you come to know Him better, have a relationship with Him, and trust Him more — even when unjust things happen. Tragedy, grief, loss, and death are part of life. Discover how Trusting God can reveal biblical truths about God.

When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy by John Piper

What do you do when you discover that you're not satisfied in God the way he wants you to be? Joy is more than an afterthought of the Christian life; it is the sustaining fruit of a relationship with God. With a radical passion for Christ's glory, John Piper helps you find the joy God wants you to have.

When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper – DVD set

Six 30-minute DVD sessions with John Piper instruct in obtaining proper affections for God so that we will fight to find their delight in Christ. As John Piper teaches in this DVD, emotions are commanded everywhere in Scripture. They're not just instructions to think a certain way but to feel a certain way. So loving God above all else is not merely about our actions but about our hearts. Though we don't have complete control of our emotions, eternity hangs on the presence of proper affections for God. Therefore, the fight for joy is not optional. It is essential. Each 30-minute DVD teaching of Piper's will serve as a tool to help in the all-important fight for joy.

Church / Body Life

Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch

In an age of professional ministers who seem to be influenced more by the experiences of successful CEOs than by the biblical model of eldership, Strauch’s book is remarkably important. Strauch thoroughly explores the Biblical model for eldership and carefully explains how a renewed focus on eldership is an essential component of a revitalized church. Quite simply, Biblical Eldership will help you understand what the Bible has to say about Christian leadership.

Critique of Modern Youth Ministry by Christopher Schlecht

The church today does not expect what it ought to from children and their parents, and this can be attributed in large part to a flawed concept of youth ministry. Brief but striking, this book discusses the historical origins of present-day youth ministry, sifts through contributing factors to this problem, and presents biblical solutions.

Getting Our Houses in Order, by Voddie Baucham – audio CD

This talk explains the exodus of teens from the church during their college years and why parents are the key to keeping them in the faith. It also explains how youth ministry as practiced in many churches has three key problems: (1) The model finds no support in Scripture, (2) it undermines the biblical practice of family discipleship, (3) and it has failed to accomplish the goal for which it was established. Every parent should listen to this!

The Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch

Christian hospitality is a very effective means of evangelism and of building a loving Christian community. It can help your church grow and to become a friendlier, more loving body. Unlike other books on hospitality, Strauch’s book expounds every Scripture on hospitality, explores all the Biblical examples, and then lists the biblical fruits of Christian hospitality. It also contains study questions and assignments for group study. (2)

The New Testament Deacon by Alexander Strauch

A keen interest in the diaconate is sweeping through today's church. Who are the deacons, what do they do, and why are they important? Claiming that the modern church has a distorted understanding of the New Testament deacon, Strauch examines relevant Scripture to help you better understand God's design for this vital ministry.

Revival: Lessons from the Life of Josaiah, by Voddie Baucham – audio CD

This talk focuses on the tremendous role young people have played in the history of the church and how vital they can be if we expect them to be all that God wants them to be, not what our culture says they should be.

Uniting Church and Home by Eric WallaceIn a day when the church is following the lead of the culture by splitting up the family, this book offers solutions for helping churches put families back together…and consequently, the church as a family back together, too. This is the standard on family-integrated churches.

Marriage

Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson

How would you describe the spiritual aroma of your home? The source of this aroma is the relationship between husband and wife. Many can fake an attempt at keeping God's standards in some external way. What we cannot fake is the resulting, distinctive aroma of pleasure to God. Most marriage books address the mere externals of marriage, without seeking to understand the heart issues. Godly marriages proceed from an obedient heart, and the greatest desire of an obedient heart is the glory of God, not the happiness of the household.

What Did You Expect??: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul David Tripp

Internationally known speaker, pastor, teacher, and author calls engaged and married couples to a grace-based lifestyle of daily reconciliation, marked by six practical commitments. Discover how to grow a thriving, grace-based marriage in all circumstances and seasons of your relationship.

What Did You Expect?? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul David Tripp – DVD set

It won’t take long for you to realize that your marriage hasn’t escaped the reality of sin. It’s what you do next that will make all the difference in the character and quality of your marriage. Learn what God wants you to do next.

Parenting / Family Life

Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homesby Voddie Baucham Jr.

It's hard to overestimate the importance of the family, and that of fathers in particular. We've heard it said, "As the family goes, so goes the nation." But it can also be said that "as the father goes, so goes the family." Consequently, Voddie Baucham has set out to teach men how to faithfully shepherd their families. Derived from Baucham's monthly meetings with men in his church, Family Shepherds calls men to accountability for their God-given responsibilities in their homes. Baucham's clear style and practical approach will spur men to protect their marriage, raise kingdom-minded children, value the synergy between church and home, and navigate difficult family dynamics. Family Shepherds is a book for any husband or father looking to lead well, and it will serve as an excellent resource for churches looking to equip the men in their congregations.

Family Worship: In the Bible, in History, and in Your Home by Donald S. Whitney

Many Christian families have never experienced the joys and benefits of family worship. But as Donald S. Whitney makes clear, the daily worship of God by families at home is a practice rooted in the Bible and common throughout Christian history. How can people unfamiliar with family worship lead it in their own homes? How do busy households in today’s culture recover faithfulness in family worship? This practical book shows you how simple and easy it can be.

Homeward Bound: Building an Attractive, Christ-Centered Family on Eternal Principles by Edward A. Hartman

When Ed Hartman received the news that his young wife had a brain tumor, it was a wake-up call to raise his family with a more eternal perspective. In Homeward Bound, Ed shows us that our life on earth is a transitional time to prepare for our new home in heaven. He draws us a picture of a godly home based on the practices of our Puritan predecessors. Included are questions for further study.

Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp

Picking up where Shepherding a Child's Heart left off, Tedd and Margy Tripp's book, Instructing a Child's Heart, helps parents give instruction to their children that will persuade them of God's wisdom. Instead of focusing solely on behavior issues, the authors look at the heart of your child. Point your child toward the happiness they will find from doing things God's way!

Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp – DVD set

“Instructing a Child's Heart” is essential, foundational, and complementary to "Shepherding a Child's Heart." The instruction that you provide for them not only informs their mind; it is directed to persuading their hearts of the wisdom and truthfulness of God's ways. Impress truth on the hearts of your children, not to control or manage them, but to point them to the greatest joy and happiness that they can experience delighting in God and the goodness of his ways. The DVD series complements the book, Instructing A Child's Heart, by Tedd and Margy Tripp.

Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp

Many parenting books are based on hit-or-miss theories steeped in secular thinking. Shepherding a Child’s Heartdraws from Pastor Tripp's seasoned experience as a father-and from God's Holy Word. Grounded in the Bible's divine plan for parenting, this guide defines your goals as a parent and provides the Scriptural methods for accomplishing them. (2)

Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp – DVD set

In these DVDs, Tedd Tripp teaches sequentially through all the material in his book Shepherding a Child's Heart. Grounded in the Bible's divine plan for parenting, this DVD defines your goals as a parent and then provides the Scriptural methods for accomplishing them.

Shepherding Young People by Douglas Wilson – audio CD set

Want to graciously encourage and direct older children without pushing them away? In this audio series Wilson focuses on shepherding children as they enter their teen years in a six-part sermon series. Issues such as loving and teaching teenagers, setting biblical standards, recovering lost ground, exposing common myths and lies of parenting older children, and discussing the facts of life are addressed. (6 CDs)

Standing on the Promises by Douglas Wilson

As parents, our greatest calling is the raising of our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. God has designed each family to be a culture with a language, customs, traditions, and countless unspoken assumptions. The culture of the family intimately shapes the children who grow up in it. It is the duty of parents to ensure that the shaping takes place according to biblical wisdom.

Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism by Starr Meade

In each generation, the church's most critical task is to uphold and proclaim the truth as it was delivered by the Lord. One important aspect of this task is the dililgent preparation of the church's children to continue to be the support pillar of the truth in the generation to come. With Training Hearts, and Teaching Minds, teaching the Shorter Catechism to your family has never been easier. This book of daily readings contains a question and answer from the catechism with six days' worth of devotional readings for each question (with 107 questions total). We must fulfill our responsibility now, so that we will be able to say with assurance, as Paul said to Timothy, "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus."

Women / Motherhood

Feminine Appealby Carolyn Mahaney

Mahaney identifies with the challenges facing women in today's world and meets them with the guidance of God's Word. The feminine virtues described in Titus 2 have transformed her life and the lives of countless other women. This book will show you the appeal of being a woman who lives for God and helps others do the same.

Seasons of a Mother’s Heart by Sally Clarkson

A mother's life is a whirlwind of changing seasons! Learn to prepare your heart---so you can weather the transitions with grace. In this revised and expanded edition of her popular book, veteran homeschool mom Clarkson offers touching stories, biblical insights, and lessons from her own journey, along with thought-provoking questions for group discussion.

Men / Fatherhood

Point Man: How a Man Can Lead His Family by Steve Farrar

This best-selling classic encourages and equips Christian men to lead their families successfully through hazards and ambushes like divorce, promiscuity, suicide, and drug addiction. Men will find practical insight on topics such as a father's influence, maintaining purity, and husband-and-wife teamwork. In this war, renowned men's author Steve Farrar emphasizes, Jesus Christ is looking for men who will not die, but live for their families.

Missions

Dispatches from the Front – DVDs

"Believers everywhere desperately need a renewed vision of Christ and the unstoppable advance of His saving work in all the earth. Our view of God's Kingdom is often too small and limited to what we have experienced. Dispatches from the Front highlights the marvelous extent, diversity, and unity of Christ's Kingdom in our world. The journal format of each episode underscores the daily unfolding of God's activity on the 'frontlines,' bringing viewers up-close with sights and sounds from distant corners of the Kingdom." (Elders Note: Since the videos deal with the frontlines of evangelism, some subject matter may be too intense for some viewers. Please preview before sharing with others.)

Islands on the Edge: Southeast Asia

A Bold Advance: Albania, Kosovo & Montenegro

I Once was Blind: West Africa

Souls of the Brave: India

Father, Give Me Bread: Ethiopia & South Sudan

The Power of His Rising: South Asia

Theology and Bible Study

Christian Beliefs by Wayne A. Grudem

There are certain matters of doctrine -- that is, the church's teaching -- that every Christian simply must know. Theology is important because what we believe affects how we live. If you're a relatively new believer in Jesus, or if you're a more mature Christian looking for a quick brush-up on basics of the faith, Christian Beliefs is for you.

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer – audio CDs

If God is in control of everything, can Christians sit back and not bother to evangelize? Or does active evangelism imply that God is not really sovereign at all? Packer shows in this classic study how both of these attitudes are false. In a careful review of the biblical evidence, he shows how a right understanding of God's sovereignty is not so much a barrier to evangelism as an incentive and powerful support for it. Narrated by Grover Gardner. Unabridged. 3 hours, 16 minutes on 3 CDs.

Herman Who? Read it Right…a Hermeneutics Primer by Todd Friel – DVD

Ask most Christians what they know about hermeneutics and they will probably ask, "Herman Who?" Spend 75 minutes with us and you will receive a condensed 16-week master's level education on how to read the Bible right. You will never read the Bible the same way again... and you will never have the wool pulled over your eyes by a false teacher. Paul told Timothy (and us) to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." By studying this course, you will be equipped to rightly divide the Word of Truth and read the Bible right.

The Holiness of God, audio CD by R. C. Sproul – audio CDs

The Holiness of God audio book examines the meaning of holiness and why people are both fascinated and terrified by a holy God. In this series, Dr. R. C. Sproul closely explores God's character, leading to new insights on sin, justice and grace, showing how holiness affects every aspect of a believer's life.

For nearly two thousand years prior to the rise of modern psychiatry and psychotherapy, the church has ministered to believers experiencing mental, emotional and behavioral problems by using the teachings of the Scriptures and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Contemporary Christianity's embrace of psychology, then, raises an important question: Was there an insufficiency on the part of God's Word and His Holy Spirit during those two millennia that made it necessary for the church to turn to modern psychotherapy in order to more effectively address a Christian's problems of living? In the history of contemporary Christendom, no secular enterprise has had such a profound influence on Christianity as has psychological counseling. The critical question raised by these developments is: Have they been helpful or harmful to the body of Christ?

Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem

This reference book has several distinctive features: a strong emphasis on the scriptural basis for each doctrine and teaching; clear writing, with technical terms kept to a minimum; a contemporary approach, treating subjects of special interest to the church today; frequent application to life; resources for worship with each chapter; bibliographies with each chapter with cross-references to other systematic theologies. This is the main theological text of the WSFBC Elders.

What is Reformed Theology? By R.C. Sproul – DVD set

Few evangelical Christians today understand Reformed theology. They know it has something to do with predestination, and they may have heard of "the five points." But they can't name these points, and they think no one believes most of them anymore. Dr. Sproul says there's more to Reformed theology than these five points. Reformed theology reveals just how awesome the grace of God is. The roots of evangelical Christianity are found in the soil of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation, which brought a return of true biblical theology to the world. In this series, Dr. Sproul offers an introduction to Reformed theology, the heart of historical evangelicalism. C.H. Spurgeon once said that Reformed theology is nothing other than biblical Christianity.

What’s the Difference? Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper – DVD set

John Piper's ten, 30-minute DVD sessions lead groups in discovering what the Bible teaches about true manhood and womanhood and the impact of living out God's design. "Over the years I have come to see from Scripture and from life that manhood and womanhood are the beautiful handiwork of a good and loving God," encourages John Piper. "He designed our differences, and they are profound." Yet when rightly understood according to God's Word, God's vision for both men and women "is not onerous or oppressive. It does not promote pride or self-exaltation. It conforms to who we are by God's good design. Therefore it is fulfilling in the deepest sense of that word." With this as his context, Piper seeks to commend the beauty as well as the biblical truth of God's design for men and women in this six-session small-group DVD. Each 30-minute teaching of Piper's delivers a powerful message to help understand and celebrate the freedom of our God-given differences.

Why We Believe the Bible by John Piper – DVD set

With the deluge of communication around us, books, newspapers, blogs, journals, and magazines, all insisting that their view of the world is most compelling, which should we trust? This is no small question. In fact, our answer has eternal implications.These twelve-sessions are designed to help explore the truth that the Bible stands above all others, is the book of books, pointing infallibly to the King of kings. Through the DVD teaching of pastor John Piper, study biblical texts and discuss probing questions to see why the Bible alone is worthy of our confidence.